Health & Wellness Corner
Sound nutrition and physical activity is essential to the successful education, growth and development of the whole child; therefore Children's House has adopted a new and improved Nutrition & Wellness Program that supports a healthy and active learning environment.
We are pleased to announce in order to support this valuable program, our school now have
Health and Wellness Coordinators to support staff, parents and the program.
Why: To support our school in it's commitment to Health and Wellness. Focusing on the whole child is a core belief in Montessori teachings and also resonates with the Health and Wellness model of embracing the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual being. What: Our Health and Wellness Coordinators support SPARK in our schools, they provide additional counseling to small groups and individual students, they organize and help design curriculum for the lunch program, and they help develop our after-school programming. Who: Shamai Buckel ( [email protected]) Amy Hartline ( [email protected]) are our Coordinators this year. Please feel free to contact them with question, concerns or comments:
Home Connections: Packing a Nutritious Lunch for your Child
Like many of you I have often felt at a loss for what to pack in my children's lunch, after all it is generally the last thing on mind until ten minutes before we leave the house. Often times because of busy schedules we have opted for prepackaged meals and beverages to ease the burden of preplanning; let's face it sometimes convenience takes precedence. It wasn't until I took an Early Childhood Health, Safety and Nutrition Class that I realized what I was feeding my children wasn't helping them to do what they came to school do, that is learn.
Packing a school lunch does take a little planning but it doesn't have to be a burden or even break the bank. Fortunately there are several great websites to help you plan up to a month in advance. My Plate allows you to enter your child's weight and age then offers you some sample menus. Notice that this site recommends water and milk as opposed to packaged beverages; also notice the portion sizes, much smaller than the typical lunch many of us pack. Another great way to ease the stress of packing a lunch is to involve your child, that is Montessori after all. Check out this article for great tips: Pack a Child's Lunch Montessori Style
Speaking of packaged beverages, did you know that a Capri Sun juice pouch contains 4.5 cubes of sugar? A Motts Apple Juice contains 14 grams of sugar and a small pouch of fruit snacks contains 11 grams of sugar. Potato chips & other packaged snacks are high in sodium and sugars alike? Imagine a lunch packed with all these items? To find out the sugar content on what you have been drinking or eating visit SugarStacks.com and prepare to be mystified. The Children's House staff strongly encourage parents to omit sugary drinks for lunch; we have water and milk available for children during lunch and snack.
So I have given you some resources but do you still need more information or do you have ideas to share with others? In collaboration with our Health & Wellness Coordinators and Live Well Montezuma, Children's House hopes to being a fun workshop to you in the month of October. Come see me in the office if you would like to help.
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